Glimmer of hope in Magu family murder case
By ERIC WAINAINA @EWainaina
Twenty witnesses have been lined up to testify against a lady pastor accused of having a hand in the murder of city lawyer Paul Magu, his wife and their three children.
State Counsel Lydia Maari on Wednesday afternoon told Kiambu Chief Magistrate R.A Oganyo that the prosecution was ready to put pastor Ann Wambui Wanyoro on trial.
The case has delayed since January when she denied the charges before Justice John Onyiego and freed on a Sh2 million bond.
The matter had come for hearing and three witnesses who included the family’s house help were to testify but Ms Maari said she was not ready to proceed.
She told the court she had received an abrupt notification over the commencing of the case while she was away and therefore required more time to study it.
The magistrate directed that the matter be heard on March 16, 17, and 18 next year when all prosecution witnesses are expected to give their evidence.
The accused, through her lawyer Ms Waithera Mwangi, protested constant adjournments by the prosecution, and the magistrate issued a warning.
LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Ms Wanyoro has been charged that on diverse dates between 23rd and 25th November last year at Makongeni area in Thika, Kiambu, she procured Paul Magu Muhiu to kill himself.
The charge is contrary to section 225 (a) of the penal code and can attract a life imprisonment if convicted.
Ms Wanyoro has also been charged with having a hand in the deaths of Mr Magu, his wife Lydia and their children Allen, 9, Ryan, 8, and Tiffany Muthoni.
Lydia went missing on 23rd of November last year and her partially burnt body was later found dumped in a thicket at Paradise Lost along Kiambu Road.
After his wife’s disappearance, Magu left home with his three children in their family car, a but returned home without them before proceeding to this rural village in Kijango,Thika the same day.
He was found dead on 25th having been involved in a fatal accident near the Ngoliba Junction on the Thika–Garissa highway two days later.
Tiffany’s body was found at a coffee plantation in Ruiru while the decomposing bodies of Allen and Ryan were later found in a thicket at Tatu City.
The suspect was a close friend to the couple and was reported to have stayed at the family’s home at Pipeline Estate for four days. Their house help told the police that while staying at couple’s home, she performed cult rituals.